Saturday, March 26, 2011

Round Glasses and The Girl with An Itch

Two things stand out to me in this photograph. First, that two of the girls are wearing almost identical round glasses. Round must havee been the popular style in the late 1920s, at least for girls. I think I've been looking at some of these old photos too much because when I went to choose new glasses last week, the round frames kept calling to me, "Choose us!" I didn't choose the roundest. Perhaps I'll get brave and show you my new frames when they come in.

Second, that the little girl, front left, has an awful itch. You can imagine the photographer looking through the lens seeing smiling children, all nicely posed and standing still, and at that very second before the camera lens clicked open, up went the hand. Poor Betty, being memorialized as the girl with the itch. And such a squinched up face to go with it. She makes me laugh.

These are Meinzen cousins, children of W. C. Robert Meinzen and his sisters, Wilhelmina (Mina) Elizabeth Meinzen Harris and Belle Meinzen Hashman. My mom wrote the names on the border of the photograph (which I cropped to get a larger photo). Strangely, she used childhood surnames for several of the children, married surnames for others, and only initials instead of first names for some.

Betty's and Sid's mom, Mina, raised poodles and we see them in several other photographs from this time period.

This photo was almost definitely taken in Steubenville, Ohio, where the Harrises and Hashmans lived. The distance between Mineral Ridge and Steubenville was a day's travel at the time this photo was taken. Though the cousins enjoyed spending time together, it probably didn't happen as often as they would have liked.

My mom, Audrey Meinzen (back right), was born in June, 1915, and looks to be about 14, so I'm guessing this photo was taken in about 1928 or 1929.

This is a Sepia Saturday post. Aren't you itching to see more old photographs? Click the link and go take a look.

Love the round glasses. Maybe Harold Lloyd made them fashionable.My sister always wants to get round ones too. But I told her they make her look like a bug. Maybe that's why you rejected them.NancyLadies of the grove

What a great family photo complete with great story for all! Lovely and funny both...and besides the glasses isn't it funny how dogs in these photos look like a dog right in our own house today! They don't change much at all...guess it's the hair styles and clothes don't you think! Great post!

Renee, we'll see about posting my frames.... It's hard to choose frames when you can't see without your old glasses. Maybe the new ones will be awful!

Postcardy, "Baby Girl" is still alive. I'm trying to protect her identity as much as possible. In one of my earliest posts with her photo I chose that moniker to hide her. I hope it's working.

Several of you mentioned Sid's cap. I don't know if the cap itself is too large for him - it seems to fit around his head just fine - but the brim and fabric at the top seem to be larger than necessary. Maybe it was the style. I remember Sid as an adult: he was such a tease!

Nancy, I hadn't thought of the "bug" look! I hope the ones I chose don't look buggy!

Betsy, not just the hairstyles and frames, but the girls in front are all wearing Mary Janes.

Greta, you may have been the girl with the squint, but I hope you weren't photographed with an itch, too! Did you need glasses and do you wish you had some of those lovely round frames?

Karen S., I agree. Dogs don't change that much, though if they wore clothing....

Alan, you are always so gracious and say such nice things. Thank you.

Grace, I don't think they were called by the initials when they were children. I think my mother, who knew who everyone was, used initials because she was short of space on the border of the photo. She knew who everyone was, but with initials, now I don't know who everyone is!

Jenny, thank you for the One Lovely Blog Award. You are very thoughtful and I appreciate it.

About Me

Sometimes I want to jump back in time, into the lives of my ancestors. Not to stay, of course -- too many modern conveniences I'd rather not do without -- but to meet them and watch their interactions with each other. Since I can't do that, I spend time learning about them and the times in which they lived. I look forward to meeting them. I've been seriously searching for my ancestors for nearly 8 years. I plan to continue indefinitely.
If you think we might have ancestors in common or you'd like to contact me for any other reason, please email me at myancestorsandme @ gmail.com.